HALLGRIMSKIRKJA CELEBRATION CONCERT THIS WEEKEND
This Sunday, October 30, Reykjavik’s iconic Hallgrímskirkja church is hosting a concert to celebrate the 25 years since its inauguration in 1986, though the church has a history going much further back than that, as you can read below.
If you happen to be in Reykjavik this weekend, the concert starts at 11 a.m. and offers a great opportunity to hear the organ’s 5,000 plus pipes ring out, thanks to organist Björn Steinar Sólbergsson. The Hallgrímskirkja choir will also be performing, conducted by Hördur Askelsson.
A very potted history of Hallgrímskirkja:
1929-32 The statue of Leifur Eiríksson is made by Alexander Stirling Calder and given to Iceland by the United States of America to honour the 1000th anniversary of the Icelandic parliament at Thingvellir, 930 AD.
1937 Gudjón Samúelsson, State Architect, is commissioned to design the church.
1940 Building commences.
1948 The Crypt is consecrated as a chapel.
1974 The steeple and wings are completed.
1985 A 10-stop organ is built for the church (and is still in use in the nave).
1986 Construction is complete and Hallgrímskirkja is inaugurated.
1992 The 72-stop, 5,275-pipe, 15-metre-high, 25-ton organ is inaugurated.
2010 Beautiful new main doors, designed by artist Leifur Breidfjörd, are installed (see below).
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